El comienzo del fin del efectivo
Periodista Portafolio13.11.2025 00:44 Actualizado: 13.11.2025 00:44
TL;DR
- The government has eliminated the withholding tax on electronic payments, a decision praised for encouraging formality and legality.
- This move is expected to lead to safer transactions, improved competition among payment service providers, and potentially better access to credit.
- Previously, card payments were subject to a 1.5% withholding tax, which ironically discouraged formalization by adding a cost.
- The introduction of Bre-B, a zero-cost immediate payment system, highlighted the burden of the withholding tax on card transactions.
- The elimination of this tax on cards, rather than imposing it on other systems like Bre-B, is seen as a correct and balancing decision.
- Financial inclusion is expected to rise as users need financial products to utilize systems like Bre-B, generating income records for micro-businesses and self-employed individuals.
- Increased competition among financial institutions based on service quality and easier, potentially cheaper, access to credit due to better customer income information are anticipated.
- The policy makes cash more costly and less secure, reducing risks of theft and extortion for small businesses and individuals, especially in underserved areas.
- Traceable digital transactions make it easier to investigate criminals, distinguishing legal from illegal activities and increasing the detection probability of criminal transactions.
- Organized crime is expected to be the primary user of cash, leading to a clearer separation between legal and illegal economies.